2008 Bowman Baseball
Distribution The 2008 Bowman Set was distributed in 3 different types of packs, Hobby, Retail and HTA jumbo. The Hobby packs were issued 10 cards per pack, 24 packs per box and 12 boxes per case. Each contained 1 autographed card. The HTA Jumbo packs were issued 32 cards per pack, 12 packs per box and 8 boxes per case. Each HTa box contained 3 autographed cards. Base Set *Base Set Checklist and Gallery Key Cards Parallel Sets The base cards were paralleled with four different parallel sets. The Gold paralleled were inserted 1 per pack and are not serial numbered. The Blue parallels were inserted 1:14 Hobby and 1:32 Retail and are serial numbered to 500 copies. The Orange parallels were inserted 1:26 Hobby and 1:65 Retail and are serial numbered to 250. Finally the Red parallel was a Hobby pack exclusive and inserted at an overall rate of 1:4512 Hobby packs, each is a serial numbered 1/1. Image:2008 Bowman Baseball Gold.jpg|Gold Parallel Image:2008 Bowman Baseball Blue.jpg|Blue Parallel /500 Image:2008 Bowman Baseball Orange.jpg|Orange Parallel /250 Image:2008 Bowman Baseball Red.jpg|Red Parallel 1/1 Additionally the four printing press plates for each card numbered 1-220 were also inserted into packs. Insert Sets As with previous years, the insert sets consisted primarily of the Prospects and Chrome Prospect inserts with two autographed sets also included. Prospects *2008 Prospects Checklist and Gallery The prospect pool was once again fairly devoid of the high end prospects that collectors desired in Bowman, Topps continued to load the Draft Picks set with the high end non-autographed prospects. Unlike the previous years, no Prospect cards are autographed, only the Chrome Prospect cards are autographed. 2 Prospect cards were included in each Retail and Hobby pack, 8 were included in each HTA Jumbo pack. Prospect Parallels The Prospect cards were paralled by Gold, Blue, Orange and Red sets. They serial numbered identically to the base set parallels. Image:2008 Bowman Baseball Prospect Blue.jpg|Prospect Blue Image:2008 Bowman Baseball Prospect Orange.jpg|Prospect Orange Chrome Prospects *2008 Chrome Prospects Checklist and Gallery Much to the chagrin of collectors, many prospects that did not have an autographed card in the 2007 Draft set were included in this set as an autographed card. It left many collectors wondering which cards would make the better investment, the first autographed Bowman Chrome card or the first Bowman card? Especially with the RC Logo rules confusing the issue further. Many collectors chose to invest heavily in 2007 Donruss EEE which had a superior autograph list, while releasing a full year earlier than the 2008 Chrome Prospects set. The first 110 Chrome Prospect cards parallel the regular Prospects set, while the last 25 are autographed. Chrome Prospect Parallels The Chrome Prospect cards were parallel in several different color refractor sets. Refractors, X-Fractors, Blue Refractors, Gold Refractors, Orange Refractors, Red Refractros and Super-Fractors (listed in order of increasing scarcity) were inserted and serial numbered. Image:2008 Bowman Baseball Xfractor.jpg|X-Fractor /275 Image:2008 Bowman Baseball Blue Refractor.jpg|Blue Refractor /150 Image:2008 Bowman Baseball Gold Refractor.jpg|Gold Refractor /50 Image:2008 Bowman Baseball Orange Refractor.jpg|Orange Refractor /25 Image:2008 Bowman Baseball Red Refractor.jpg|Red Refractor /5 Scouts Autographs *Scouts Checklist and Gallery Signs of the Future *Signs of the Future Checklist and Gallery The SOTF cards were inserted into retail packs at an overall rate of approximately 1:24 retails packs and as a box topper in HTA Jumbo boxes. The cards were not inserted in regular hobby packs according to Topps. Officially the cards were released in an A and B groups, but Topps has not released which cards fell into which group. Jose Mijares did not return his stickers in time and thus was packed out as an exchange card that could be redeemed until 5/31/2010. Other Information *Example Box Breaks *Official Topps Release Information Category:Baseball Card Sets Category:Bowman Baseball Card Sets Category:2008 Baseball Card Sets Category:2008 Bowman